Crossed Wires
by S. Phantom
Summary: Blurr's back from his mission runs and looks for someone to talk to, finding Wheeljack and things begin to build unexpectedly.
1. Crossed Wires

Blurr stretched his limbs as best as he could, feeling various joints and gears subtly shift back into their correct places. He loved his mission runs; the feel of the road under his tires, the wind caressing his chassis, driving at speeds that no earth vehicle can reach. But being the runner between bases and human allies often left him with no time to relax until he got a few days off to himself.

Fresh from the wash racks with his paint job clean of dust and the wear of the road, Blurr meandered down the long hallways of the Ark, feeling oddly out of place when he saw no one else about. Before he turned to go to his room, the speedster made a slight detour, wandering close to Wheeljack's lab and looking into the room when he saw that the door was opened.

At first, there was nothing unusual in the room, a project on the work table, various wires scattered about, some attached to the strange object while others laid freely on the table, and the tools to work on it close by, easily within reach, but the scientist was no where in sight.

Blurr took a step into the room and nearly jumped out of his armor as Wheeljack stumbled out of the storage area that he kept most of his project, swearing enough to put an Iacon docker to shame. The reason was obvious. Various colors of wires were tangled up in Wheeljack's feet and legs, a few actually threading through a few of his gears, making walking impossible for him. Wheeljack barely saved himself from a dented mask, thought he did let himself rest on the floor, his vocal indicators flashing a soft blue as he sighed in annoyance.

"Ialwaysthoughtyougotabitcaughtupinyourwork," Blurr said, grinning weakly when Wheeljack shot him an accusatory glare. The blue 'Bot moved around the work table and crouched down at Wheeljack's feet, starting to untangle the wire. His hands were slow and meticulous, especially when he worked the wire out of the ankle joint. Each time the wire was removed, the engineer sighed in relief, moving his foot when nothing was hindering movement. Blurr repeated this with the other leg, this time removing the wire from knee gears.

Halfway through winding the wire up, Wheeljack took it from Blurr, finishing the job and setting it to the side to go through later to remove the torn up areas and make it into shorter sections of wire. Wheeljack picked up a short red wire and reached into his project, going back to work.

"MindifIstay?"

"Go right ahead."

Both 'Bots fell silent after that, Blurr watching the scientist work with small sparks flying in the air from his welder and Wheeljack concentrating on the metal under his hands. Eventually, Blurr began to rearrange all of the loose wire on the table by first color, and then size within the color.

"Awfullyquietaroundhere."

Wheeljack looked up, appearing confused for a moment, then he nodded, picking up a blue wire that Blurr just sat down. "Middle of the week at noon. You're usually not here at this time, are you? No, most of the others are on patrol. I stayed in so Ratchet can get some recharge."

"Ah… HasitbeenquietwhileIwasgone?"

"Fairly quiet. No Decepticon activity. Sideswipe's been in good behavior so I'm expecting something from him soon. Sunstreaker hasn't even antagonized anyone and I got my wires crossed."

"NowJack,Iknowotherssaythatyou'resometimesabitspacywiththingsbut—"

"No, Blurr. I got the wires crossed. In this." Wheeljack nodded to the metal casing his hands were buried in. "The electricity is currently being diverted through my wiring. If I remove my hands, there is a ninety-seven percent chance that it will blow. I want you to leave."

"ButJack—"

"Blurr. Leave. Now!"

"Jack!"

"_**NOW!"**_

Blurr acted, but not as how the scientist requested. He threw himself into his speed as much as he could in the small area, grabbing Wheeljack by the shoulder armor and wrenching the 'Bot to the floor. The explosion, as Wheeljack said, went off, catching Blurr by the left side of his back and stunning him. When his optics focused again, Blurr saw the surprised expression on Wheeljack, clear despite the mask that covered half of his face.

The blue 'Bot stood up quickly, wincing as his left shoulder protested. "Howcanyouworklikethat? I'dbeapileofrattlingnutsandboltsif—"

"You fraggin' slaggin' GLITCH!"

_**WHAM!**_

Blurr whimpered as he clutched his helm, his processor ringing with the blow of Wheeljack's welder. He looked at Wheeljack in vague surprise as the scientist glared at him, talking at high speed and jabbing the speedster in the right shoulder with the tool. The rant was easily summed up in "Don't do that, don't put yourself in danger, I knew what I was doing, if you're in my lab you obey my orders."

"AreyoudonewiththeHatchetSpecialty?"

Wheeljack stopped talking at the question and started to chuckle, his vocal indicators going from red back to blue. "If you promise not to do that again!"

"Willdo." Blurr gave the scientist a smile and turned to leave but hissed when there was a gentle touch on some of the exposed wiring of his shoulder. 

"Let me take care of this."

"Youdon'thaveto."

"I already gave you the lecture, might as well finish it with the repair."

Blurr hesitated but nodded. "Ifit'snottoomuchtrouble."

"Of course not! Besides, I'm the medic on call." Wheeljack moved over to his cabinets, pulling out a bottle of solution that would remove scorch marks and motioned to the exit. "Let's move this to the medic-bay. I'll be able to buff out some of those dings there."

**oOo**

**Author's Note: **Suppose to be a one shot, but it might continue. I don't know. Depends on how much people like it. Hope people like though! 


	2. Chapter 2

Wheeljack rested has head on his hand, twisting a wire between his fingers in boredom. There wasn't much to do while waiting for an outcome of a battle. Earlier, Sunstreaker radioed in that he and Sideswipe were spotted by a pair of Seekers and a majority of the Autobots rolled out as reinforcements for the inevitable battle that was to come. Ratchet had went with them, leaving the medic-bay in the hands of First Aid and Wheeljack.

The scientist jerked when the comm. crackled to life, Ratchet's tense voice echoing in the room. _"Autobots are inbound to the Ark. ETA is twenty minutes. Prepare bay to receive injured ASAP."_

"Who's injured?" First Aid asked, moving about the room and placing tools in their correct slots by the tables.

"_We have a few minor injures but Bumblebee has been damaged and I don't have the tools to stabilize him. He should be there shortly."_

First Aid paused. "You said that arrival is in twenty minutes."

"_He doesn't have the time!"_ Ratchet snapped, the comm. crackling with static for a moment. _"I had to send him with the fastest runner!"_

Wheeljack stopped what he was doing and immediately ran to the room's doorway, hitting the pad to open it. And just in time. A streak of blue came into the room and the form of Blurr came into focus as the 'Bot carefully laid the small form of Bumblebee on the table, lingering only for a moment to make sure that Bumblebee was as comfortable as possible, before he disappeared from the room, a breeze marking Blurr's exit.

First Aid and Wheeljack immediately got to work, hooking up energon lines to the still frame and doing everything to stabilize the minibot. The amount of damage done to Bumblebee was nearly out of their abilities and the most of it would have to be repaired by Ratchet.

The second time Blurr appeared, this time with Bluestreak at his side, First Aid nearly jumped out of his armor but Wheeljack paid the speedster no mind, missing the strange cracking sound from Blurr and focused instead on the injured gunner. Blurr disappeared as the scientist worked on stopping leaking coolant.

"How many more injured?"

"About four others injured," Bluestreak replied, a bit dazed. Wheeljack didn't blame him. Even if Blurr slowed himself down and had the weight of a comrade with him, the 'Bot could move at incredible speeds, enough to make a normal mech feel like they had the ground yanked from under their feet.

Blurr appeared twice more within five minutes, this time with Mirage and Smokescreen in tow. Both 'Bots were placed on extra tables and when there was about ten minutes until the rest of the Autobots arrived, he materialized one last time, Ratchet stumbling behind him before disappearing again.

"I thought there were six injured," First Aid said, still working diligently on Bumblebee.

"There are. I'm one of them. Glancing blow off of the shoulder armor and my self repair has already taken care of it. Prowl ordered Blurr to take me so that I can start the repairs."

Wheeljack watched as his friend got to work on the small Autobot and went over to Smokescreen, pulling out a small tool to weld the edges of a gash in the armor together. He sent Mirage, Smokescreen, and Bluestreak back to their quarters to rest for a while, his optics flickering in faint surprise when Prowl showed up.

"You're the sixth injured?" Wheeljack asked.

Prowl frowned. "No. He's told me he already been by here."

It was Wheeljack's turn to frown. The only mechs that came into the medic bay were the ones that needed repair, and…

The frown turned into a scowl and Wheeljack quickly left the medic bay, walking around various mechs who were on their way to the wash racks to clean off the dust from the battle or to the rec room to grab a quick cube of energon before heading out on shortened patrol rounds or off to the command center.

He reached a closed doorway and palmed the lock pad, vaguely surprised when the door slid back to reveal a dark room. A recharge berth was pushed into a corner with a 'Bot size desk close to it, the top littered with paper and data pads. But there was no mech in the room. Wheeljack was about to go to the rec room to check there but small smudges of blue coolant marked the walls of the hall, leading from the medic bay to… his lab?

Wheeljack opened the door to his lab, the room dark save for a few sparks coming from one corner, blue optics flickering faintly in the darkness. Around the figure was a dark puddle of mixed energon and coolant fluids.

"Is… everyone… okay?" the mech asked softly before the optics offlined.

"_RATCHET!"_

**oOo**

Blurr came online slowly, an unfamiliar ceiling appearing before him and confusing him for a moment until he looked around. The medic bay came into focus, as did the wrench coming straight for his head. Blurr jerked away in surprise, managing to dodge the wrench but was thrown back into the recharge berth before he could slip away.

"You got shot during the fight," Ratchet hissed and Blurr pressed himself back into the berth.

"Yea?"

"You told me that First Aid sealed off the leaking coolant and energon lines in your left shoulder and that you were okay until they got more time to look at it."

"DidIsaythat? ApparentlyIgotconfusedandmeanttotellyouthatBluestreakgot—"

"You did that on purpose! After Bluestreak, you should have stopped coming back. The next time you're injured, do not go to Wheeljack's lab and bleed all over the place!"

"Wheeljack'slab?" Blurr asked faintly. He didn't remember much of what happened after he dropped the medic off, just that the tubing in his shoulder that tore when he came back with Bluestreak was leaking fluid faster and the main thought process that if he could seal it off himself, his self repair system would take care of the rest. He thought he made it back to his room, but mistaking Wheeljack's lab for his room would also account for a work table suddenly being in his way.

"You made your injury worse and if Wheeljack hadn't found you, you would have gone into stasis lock until your systems deemed you healed, which could have easily taken weeks if not months! When I ask of your injuries, you fraggin' well better tell me the truth!"

When the talking stopped, Blurr looked up at Ratchet with wide optics and asked, "Iseveryoneokay?"

A gust of air left Ratchet's system and the medic nodded. "Bumblebee was the worse but you got him here in time for Wheeljack and First Aid to stabilize him. He's recharging now and should be able to leave in a day or two. Bluestreak, Mirage, and Smokescreen have been repaired and were sent off before you were found."

"…CanIgonow?"

Ratchet optics narrowed as they focused back on Blurr. "Yes. You're on light duties, no patrol, and no delivery runs until I give the say so."

Blurr nodded and carefully got out of the berth, edging to the door while watching Ratchet as if to make sure that he wasn't going to be unexpectedly dragged back into the medic bay. When the door shut behind him, Blurr walked slowly down the halls, his hand probing at the fresh welds and repairs to his shoulders. There was scorch marks all around the armor and Blurr walked over to the open door of Wheeljack's lab.

"Jack?" he said softly, jerking back into the hall when the scientist looked at him with an annoyed expression, though the expression did turn to one of worry. When Wheeljack made no move to talk, Blurr stepped back in the lab and said "I'msorrytobugyouandIknowthatIhavenorighttoaskyouofthissinceImadeamessofyourlabbutIneedtoborrowthestufftoremovethescorchmarksonmyarmor."

Without saying anything, Wheeljack went to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of the solution to remove the marks. He held it up for Blurr to take, but the moment that the speedster had his hand on it, Wheeljack's other hand caught his wrist in a gentle but unbreakable grip.

"Don't you _dare_ ever offline in my presence like that again! If it happens, it better be in the medic bay."

"Okay…" Blurr squeaked, surprise showing in his optics.

Wheeljack's optics narrowed slightly but he went back to his work table, grumbling angrily to himself as he furiously tore wires out of dead project, no longer paying any attention to Blurr.

Not knowing what else to do, Blurr left the scientist alone and went back to his own room, sitting the bottle down on his desk before curling up on his berth for a recharge that his systems demanded. He'll get some energon later when he felt more alert.

**oOo**

Wheeljack sighed as he walked down the hall, a cube of energon in his hands. Talking with some of the 'Bots in the command center revealed that Blurr didn't stop by the rec room for his energon and no one has seen the speedster. Wheeljack felt bad for his harsh words earlier and wished to apologize for them, deciding to seek out Blurr and bring him the energon he had yet to get.

When he got to the room, he was surprised again as the door slid open without any prompting, the scientist expecting it to be locked. He stepped into the room, his optics focusing on the recharging form in the berth. Black marks still decorated the blue armor and the solution to remove sat on the desk.

Not knowing what else to do, Wheeljack stepped into the room, set the cube down on the desk, and pulled out a cloth, dousing it with the solution and gently began to rub the scorch marks off. This went on for about five minutes before Blurr shifted slightly, turning to look at Wheeljack with sleep optics.

"Here," Wheeljack said, pausing to give Blurr the energon. "You need to drink this."

Blurr took the cube in shaky hands, sitting up enough to drink a good portion of it before handing it back to Wheeljack. The scientist place it back on the desk and went back to buffing away the remains of the battle. Blurr's system's hummed under Wheeljack's hands and the Lancia could have sworn that Blurr was asleep by the time he was finished. Picking the bottle up, he was about to stand when a light touch on his mask made him stop.

"Thanks," Blurr murmured, the touch turning into a caress. The hand fell back to Blurr's side and the mech was once again back in recharge, completely missing the way Wheeljack's vocal indicators flashed pink.

Wheeljack walked back to his lab in a daze, his mind not focused on what was going on around him but on what happened in Blurr's room.

_He didn't mean that. He was asleep and still out of it when he did that. It was all a dream._

_But what if he did mean it?_ a voice that sounded like Prowl's asked. _What if he was worried how you would react in reality and he only did it because he thought it was just his imagination?_

That stopped Wheeljack completely, optics wide in shock, until the door to his lab beeped at him.

Wheeljack decided that he wouldn't work on any of his project for the rest of the day.

**oOo**

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone that reviewed! Only 'cause of you is this continuing!


	3. Chapter 3

Blurr muttered softly to himself as he paced the open entryway of the Ark, his hands moving in nervous gestures as he tried to reason with himself. It had been a week since he got himself in the medic-bay. A week since he had a dream where he felt the soothing touches of Wheeljack working on his arm, removing the signs of battle. A week since he woke up in his berth only to find the cleaning solution gone and a near finished cube of energon on his desk, proof that it wasn't a dream but reality.

The speedster tried to tell himself over and over that it was possible he didn't wake up enough to touch Wheeljack mask. That it was possible that if he did do it, Wheeljack would write it off as Blurr still stuck in a dream. That it was possible that Blurr wished their friendship to be more than that and the small touch was the only sign he was brave enough to give.

Blurr didn't really remember how he ended up waiting for another mech at the entrance. He was talking with Bluestreak who was also on light duties when Prowl ordered him away. They were still doing their duties, paying attention to the monitors they were assigned to, but he apparently did something wrong. That worry was only a small dent on the inner turmoil his processes were going through though.

"Blurr?"

The blue 'Bot froze at the familiar voice and he looked up in surprise at the mech walking towards him. "Wheeljack! Howhaveyoubeen? Ihaven'tseenyouforawhile! NotthaI'vebeenavoidingyou. Iwouldn'tavoidyou. I'vejustbeenbusyinthecommunicationroomanddidn'thaveareasontogotothemedicbay. Whatareyoudoinghere? Areyouwaitingonsomeone?"

Wheeljack's expression was unreadable and Blurr began to fidget with his hands again, stopping when the scientist spoke. "I am to take you with me on patrol."

"Really?"

"Ratchet has given orders. We are to stick to the back roads where there is less traffic. You are not to drive ahead of me. You are to stay at speeds under a hundred miles per hour."

"Onlyahundred?"

"Anything more than that can possibly strain the welds in your shoulder."

"ButIcangofasterthantha—"

"If you want to argue with Ratchet, go right ahead."

Blurr's mouth snapped shut and Wheeljack nodded, deeming that enough of an answer before converting to his Lancia Stratos form, driving out of the Ark the moment his tires touched the ground. Not to be left behind, Blurr turned into his race car form, taking off after Wheeljack but driving behind as he was ordered

He didn't really mind it after only a few minutes.

**oOo**

The scenery around the Ark wasn't as bad as some of the 'Bots complained it to be. Blurr often went his fastest to get important information to others in the quickest way when it was too valuable to be trusted to Earth technology and with that job, he wasn't able to see the details around him. Now that he was forced to go at a much slower speed, he could see the animals and plant life they passed on the patrol

The silence that fell between him and Wheeljack wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't strained either. While a small voice in the back of his CPU kept questioning the possibility of Wheeljack not wanting to talk to him again, the rest of him didn't mind the silence. They were on patrol and the duty didn't require talking, actually encouraging silence for the mechs to hear better. And Wheeljack probably didn't feel the need to clutter the air with nonsense, not having anything to talk about anyway.

Any words that came from either one was just a passing comment about something interesting in the earth life around them or a warning that there was a possibility of rough terrain and that they might have to take a slight detour or—

"Mud hole straight in front."

Mud hole straight in front.

Blurr's mind suddenly snapped back to the present but he didn't have enough time to avoid the road hazard, plowing straight into the substance without slowing down. The mud clung to his tires and brought him to a stop. It didn't take much for water to splash over his low slung car form, and mud was definitely worse. Nearly every inch of him was covered and he didn't even notice when Wheeljack came back around, converting to his bipedal form, his vocal indicators flashing a soft blue in amusement.

"I did give you warning," Wheeljack said.

Blurr's wheels spun uselessly in the mud and Blurr sulked for a few minutes before transforming, only to slip on the mud and fall on his aft. He looked up at the dark gray hand offered to him and took it, grateful for the help.

"ThanksJack." Blurr took a step, starting to follow the mech as he turned away, and yelped as his feet refused to move. He flailed for a moment and grabbed the first thing he touched but still fell back into the mud. When he managed to clear his optics of mud, he saw a very displeased Wheeljack looking at him, sitting in the mud with it splashed across his back and chest armor.

Shrinking in on himself, Blurr begin to mutter his apologies. "I'msorry! Ididn'tmeantopullyouin! Ididn'twanttodothat! I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'ms—"

"Don't worry about it," Wheeljack said, interrupting Blurr before he got himself worked up. "We're near the end of the patrol route and time anyway. We'll be coming back up on the Ark and we can wash off there."

Nodding, Blurr stood with Wheeljack and tried again to get back to normal ground, his steps slow and planned out instead of rushed. This attempt was more successful and they finished the patrol in their bipedal forms, not wanting to get mud in places that would be harder to clean.

Both mechs reported to Prowl after they got back to base and promptly went to the wash racks the moment they were released from duty. The wash racks were thankfully empty when they got there and Blurr headed for the nearest nozzle, turning the water on high and hot and just stood there, letting the mud wash away. He glanced over at Wheeljack when the scientist chuckled.

"You sure were eager to get here."

"I'mnoTracksorSunstreaker,butIwouldratherbeclean. Anditwasstartingtoitch!"

Blurr reached for the soap and got enough to get him clean and began to scrub vigorously to get rid of the caked on mud. When he was rinsing off the suds, he heard Wheeljack growling beside him, struggling to reach the base of his little wings where the mud got stuck the worse.

"Stopbeforeyoustrainsomething," Blurr muttered. Pushing Wheeljack's hands away, he got more soap and carefully removed the mud, working his fingers between the seams in the armor and the joints of the stubby wings. Wheeljack fell silent and Blurr looked up, worried that he was doing something wrong, but he got distracted. "Yougotmudonyourmaskandface."

"Hm? Oh…" Blurr paused when Wheeljack reached up. His hands touched something on each side of his face and with a soft _click_ the mask came off.

Blurr blinked in surprise, never seeing Wheeljack without the mask before. The face revealed wasn't hideous or overly handsome, very few scars marking the metal skin. One scar that caught Blurr's optics was a faded one, probably before the war even started, that marked the left corner of Wheeljack's mouth.

When Wheeljack's optics flickered to him, Blurr went back to washing Wheeljack's wings, ducking his head in hopes to hide his embarrassment. "Whydoyouwearamaskifyoudon'tneedone?" he asked, the first thing on his mind.

"You know my record with my experiments. It's one more barrier between potentially toxic smoke and my systems," Wheeljack said, stepping under the water.

Blurr stepped back to give him room. After Wheeljack rinsed off and cleaned the mud from his mask, he turned off the water. Blurr quickly got rid of the soap on his hands, still refusing to look at Wheeljack despite hearing the mask snap back into place.

"Are you doing anything later?" Wheeljack asked, grabbing a large towel to wipe off excess water.

"Um… no?"

"Would you like to join me and watch the sunset? I know a lake where the colors show up nicely."

"Sure…"

Wheeljack smiled, the expression easy to see despite the mask, and left Blurr in the wash racks. Blurr stood in the middle to the room, his own towel twisting between his hands, warmth spreading from his sparking and a goofy grin on hi face. He was brought back to reality when the towel ripped and Blurr got rid of it, not really caring if Wheeljack saw the outing as just time spent between friends. It still gave him an excuse to spend time with Wheeljack.


	4. Chapter 4

Things were quiet at the base and Wheeljack didn't know if he should be thankful or worried. Quiet means most of the mechs out on patrol or checking suspicious areas where Decepticon activity was reported. Quiet means not knowing where others were, unable to pinpoint a comrade because the distinctive sounds of their systems were no where to be heard. Quiet means no one standing on the other side of his work table, watching him tinker with a weapon that could turn the Decepticons into slag, or themselves if Wheeljack wasn't careful.

Wheeljack was surprised when he figured out that he missed Blurr's presence in the lab, the mech's bright blue optics watching with curiosity at what the scientist was doing while his hands were quickly sorting the various wires. It had become a habit for the speedster, timing himself and trying to see if he could beat his best, not caring if there might be more wires. If there were over fifty wires, Blurr considered it fair game.

Blurr had become a near constant in the lab. If he wasn't on patrol or missions, he would be found with Wheeljack, talking with him even though the blue 'Bot knew that Wheeljack didn't listen to most of the things he said, bringing him a cube of energon when Wheeljack forgot the time, pestering Wheeljack to go outside for a few breems if he has been in his lab for more than a day as long as the scientist wasn't working on something important, pestering Wheeljack to go recharge because it was such a late hour when Blurr wandered by, regardless of how important the project was.

Wheeljack pulled out a wire from the experiment his hands were buried in and replaced it with a new one, same length, same color, from the neatly organized container near by. While organized wires helped, Wheeljack suspected that his entire lab was going to be cleaned up if he wasn't careful and then he wouldn't know where anything was. The lab might be a mess, but it was a very organized mess and the scientist knew exactly where everything was.

The scientist looked up and at the door to the hall, and when nothing happened, nothing appearing and no noise indicating someone nearby, Wheeljack realized what he had done. He was expecting Blurr to walk through the door, a bright smile on his faceplates and holding two cubes of energon. But that wasn't happening today. Blurr was sent on a deliver mission and most likely won't be back for at least another day. And when he realized that he had been staring at the door for at least fifteen minutes and doing nothing, Wheeljack decided to set the experiment away and head to the rec room for some fuel since his mind was on it already.

He didn't pass anyone in the halls and the rec room was empty when he got there, leaving him free to watch something of his choice on the large television or to listen to any music he wanted. Instead, he got his cube of energon, drank half of it as he sat down, and then played with the cube on the table, his hands refusing to be idle. Wheeljack was lulled into a state where his mind was blissfully blank, nothing going across his processors and leaving him open to any ideas that might come to him.

A static burst across the Ark's intercoms jerked Wheeljack back to the present and he sat up straight as Prowl's voice seemed to echo from everywhere at once.

"_Prowl to Autobots. Decepticons attacking near power plant located fifty-seven point three miles southwest of here. The following are to provide backup to the group already there."_ Prowl began to list off names and Wheeljack quickly got to his feet when he heard his own, leaving the still filled cube on the table in favor of heading to his lab.

Once there, Wheeljack subspaced a few of his experiments that he knew would work and might be helpful during the upcoming battle and headed out to the base entrance, waiting for the rest of the group to show up before heading out the battle site that Prowl indicated, following the coordinates that the tactician supplied them with.

The battle was in full swing by the time the reinforcements got to the site and Wheeljack immediately ducked down behind a rocky outcropping to avoid being shot. He began to slip closer to the battle whenever there was a lull in the crossfire, getting off his own shots when he caught a glimpse of a Decepticon.

The Autobots had fallen back to regroup near him and Wheeljack met up with them, rummaging through his subspace to see what he had on him. He pulled out one of his better experiments with an air of triumph only for his expression to fall and he mentally cursed himself. The experiment was a good one, all right, but the fact that it was one of the faultier versions didn't help. The electronic pulse disruptor would put quite a few Decepticons out of commission for a while, but the trigger to set it off had only a range of fifty feet to the device that had a radius of a hundred. The 'Bot who placed the weapon close enough to do damage to the enemy will also be caught in the blast.

"What do you have there?"

Wheeljack looked up at Optimus's question and quickly explained to his leader what exactly it was to do. Then, in quieter tones, he explained what had to be done to use it.

"Are you sure that there is nothing else you can use?" Optimus asked, pain for his comrade heard in his voice.

"No sir. Everything else that I brought is meant to take out one or two. This can decidedly turn the battle over in our favor before they would have time to react." When Optimus was silent, Wheeljack stood straighter. "It's necessary if you wish this to end quickly and with less injured. I'll be in need of repair but I won't be permanently offlined. You… you might want to have Ratchet close by."

A rush of air left Optimus's systems, the mech's equivalent of a sigh. "Very well." He spoke up so that the 'Bots around them could hear. "I need everyone to provide Wheeljack with cover but stay in your positions! Blurr! Stick to his side until he gives the command to fall back."

Wheeljack jerked back, optics wide as he saw the blue speedster run over to him while his CPU kept trying to deny it. Blurr shouldn't be on the battle field. Blurr should still be on his mission halfway across the country. Blurr's optics flickered quickly between the thing in Wheeljack's hands, Optimus, and Wheeljack himself and an unreadable expression crossed his face.

Blurr saluted his commander and did as he was told, taking up a position by Wheeljack's side. Immediately the scientist darted out onto the field, keeping as low to the ground as he could with the ever present splash of blue out of the corner of his optics. Their comrades did as they were told, providing both 'Bots with cover fire and every once in a while Blurr would speed ahead and pause long enough to take out a Decepticon and let Wheeljack catch up at the same time.

They were nearly at the invisible line that separated the Autobot side from the Decepticon side when they finally ducked down under a rocky outcropping that jutted from the ground, both of them easily hiding.

"When I run forward," Wheeljack murmured, "You race your aft back to our side, got it?" The scientist peered around the outcropping to see exactly where he was. The fact that one of the Autobot was running straight for the enemy should surprise the Decepticons, and the fact that it was Wheeljack should shock them even more. He looked back to Blurr. "Got it?"

What happened next almost failed to register in his mind. As quick as possible, Blurr reached forward and quickly undid the clasps that kept Wheeljack's mask on. Blurr's thumb gently touched the scar at the corner of his mouth, nearly forgotten from how long it has been since he got it, but was quickly replaced by soft, eager lips.

The battle around them fell away as Wheeljack got caught up in the sensation. It was one testament that Blurr didn't do everything with speed. This kiss was filled with emotion; care, worry, lust, adoration… and time around them stuttered to a halt with it. One white hand touched his cheek and when Blurr pulled away, that same thumb brushed against the scar on the corner of his mouth again.

The blue 'Bot didn't say anything. He just smiled sadly and disappeared from sight. Pulling himself back to the present, Wheeljack looked down to check his electronic pulse disruptor one last time, to have the trigger ready in case he wasn't able to place it where it needed to be but stared uncomprehendingly at his mask in his hands before he thought of looking around for the weapon. But he knew where it was and his Spark twisted painfully in its casing as Wheeljack stood his full height.

Time stopped once again. There was no pleasure this round, only shock and horror as he watched Blurr running back towards the Autobots, his optics on the Decepticons firing at his back. At the last possible moment, Blurr activated the trigger and Wheeljack instinctively ducked down as the thing went off.

Blurr didn't give him time to move out of range, if he had placed it where Wheeljack originally planned for it to be, but Blurr had moved the target area further into the enemy lines, placing himself into more danger as he left his comrades out of it. It was only because of that Wheeljack didn't feel the near fatal effects of his experiment, even if he did feel a faint shockwave pass over his head.

Wheeljack came out from his hiding spot, his mask falling from unfeeling fingers as he ran onto the field in order to find the blue 'Bot, not caring that he probably made himself a nice target for any Decepticon not caught in the disruptor's radius. He found Blurr crumpled on the ground and Wheeljack fell to his knees, afraid to touch him before carefully picking him up, his optics searching for any sign of life but found none.

"Blurr? Blurr! Primus slaggit Blurr! Answer me right now! _BLURR_!"

Someone touched his shoulder and without thinking he lashed out, an angry snarl low in his throat as he scraped red paint from the arm of Sideswipe.

"Get up, Wheeljack!" the front line fighter said, trying to catch the scientist's arm. "We need to get out of here before any 'Con backup comes!"

"I'm not leaving him! He needs help! _Back off!_"

Unnoticed to him, Sunstreaker came up behind Wheeljack and caught both of his arms, growling as the scientist nearly jerked out his grip but by then Sideswipe got a grip on him too and Wheeljack fell limp in their arms as Ratchet slipped up to his side and injected sedatives into his system.

His last sight was of Blurr still on the ground like a ragdoll tossed there by some human child, his optics dark and cold to the world.

**oOo**

**Author's Note: **(cackles madly and passes out)


	5. Chapter 5

Ratchet jerked up as he heard the door to his medbay slide open and he readied a wrench to throw but stopped at the last minute when he saw that it was Prowl and Optimus Prime, and it probably wouldn't look good for him to take out two commanding officers. The two mechs waited for Ratchet to finish putting away his tools before stepping forward.

"How are the injured?" Optimus asked.

A weary sigh left Ratchet systems and he answered, "There weren't many injuries above a few scrapes, one or two blaster hits, and Sideswipe's arm being slightly damaged. All of those were fixed and sent off." He missed the questioning looks as he glanced back to the two mechs that were still in the medbay. "Wheeljack will online soon and Blurr will continue to be in stasis lock until his Spark stops fluctuating and stabilizes."

"What happened to Wheeljack?" Prowl asked. He had been at the backlines when the electronic pulse disruptor went off and he only saw Wheeljack moving over to Blurr before collapsing himself onto the twins.

"He almost went berserk and the twins had to restrain him," Ratchet replied and two sets of optics widened. The only time that most mechs went berserk was if they were injured badly enough on the battle field to trigger a last ditch effort or if a bonded was…

"Wheeljack's bonded to Blurr?" Prowl questioned, his optics staring at Ratchet in disbelief.

"If you're going to freeze go sit down on a berth before you do!" Ratchet snarled and he force Prowl over to a free berth before turning back to Optimus. "No, they're not bonded, but it appears that there are feelings between them. This is as new to me as it is to you."

"How long until they're fit for duty?"

"Wheeljack should be ready as soon as he wakes up, but if he's not in his labs or in here, I want him under surveillance. He won't try anything aft-headed, but he won't be focusing on the present as much as he should, if my guesses are correct. As for Blurr, once he wakes I want no missions for him for at least a month if not more. Any type of speed might put a strain on his Spark and I don't want that to happen for at least a few weeks. Patrol once in a while, but mostly staying in the command center if it could be arranged."

Optimus nodded and Prowl stood up from the berth, the fact that he was trying not to think of Wheeljack and Blurr together obvious by his expression. Ratchet said, "I'll notify you when both of them wake up," before the door slid shut, cutting off the rest of the Ark from the medbay and allowing Ratchet to relax his tense posture. He severely hoped that nothing huge was going to happen in the next day. He didn't think he could take it.

**oOo**

Wheeljack's optics flickered online and he stared at the ceiling, a bit confused. He didn't have the pain that was accompanied by a battle injury or something exploding. The only thing he could remember was the battle against the Decepticons and the electronic pulse disruptor—

The scientist sat up with a gasp but was forced to stay on the berth as a strong hand held him there. He felt a brief sensor sweep across his frame and he looked up at Ratchet with pleading optics. His worry lessened when he saw that Ratchet was giving him the "You've been an aft" look, but he still asked, "Is Blurr okay?"

"Blurr's in stasis due to his Spark being unstable, but it has been calming down. He'll make a full recovery, but for now he's staying in the medbay until he wakes up. You, on the other hand, get to leave the medbay. You're going to be under surveillance for a while. I know that you won't do anything glitch headed like trying to offline yourself, but you tend to be a bit scattered when you deep in something and I don't want to chance it. And I don't want to see you back here for a very, _very_ long time."

Wheeljack had been trying to look around Ratchet to see if he could catch a hint of blue but his optics snapped back to the medic when he stopped talking. There was silence for almost thirty seconds when Ratchet suddenly wilted, looking as if he injured a small, harmless creature. "You can come in here to see Blurr if you want. Put your mask back on before you leave. There's no telling what 'Bot you can convince into doing things for you with that expression!"

The scientist didn't know what Ratchet was speaking of but picked up his mask and latched it back on before standing up. Ratchet had moved off to his office, leaving Wheeljack alone and the Lancia paused as he saw a part of the medbay screened off. He walked over and actually stopped when he saw Blurr laying on a recharge berth with various machines hooked up to him, one with technical readouts of the patient's status, other to keep his levels up, another to alert whoever was on duty if something critical was happening.

Wheeljack knew that the last machine was just a precautionary, not really necessary, but it still hurt to think that he was the cause of it. Grey fingers lightly touched the white metal skin of the Blurr's face.

_If only I hadn't grab the wrong thing. If only I hadn't let myself be distracted. If only I hadn't let Blurr go without telling him._

With that thought firm in his CPU, Wheeljack left the medbay and went off to his lab, his one place of peace in what felt like a sea of confusion.

**oOo**

The two weeks were almost the same as the day after he woke up in the medbay. He would report for duty, either for patrol, command center, or medbay, spend some time with Blurr, refuel, and recharge. Each time he saw Blurr Ratchet would give the same report; he's stabilizing but hasn't come out of stasis lock yet. Wheeljack would just nod, sit down by the recharge berth, and either talk to Blurr or read out loud to him. Wheeljack had read studies of how humans would talk with people who were in a coma and he saw no harm in doing this. Ratchet had put up with the talking and Wheeljack wasn't given a reason to stop.

So it was understandable when Ratchet hailed him on the comm. shortly after the scientist woke up and grabbed some energon that Blurr was no longer in stasis lock and was released from the medbay. Wheeljack left his half empty energon cube and took off towards the medbay as fast as he could, cursing the medic for not holding Blurr there until he got there only to receiving a scathing reply from said medic when he forgot to close the private comm. channel.

Wheeljack rounded the corner and spun on his heel in order to avoid the mech that was there, watching the scientist with surprised. Wheeljack cycled his optics to make sure but the same image was still presented to him. Blurr stood close to the wall, mouth opened in surprise, white hands fidgeting with nothing as the blue 'Bot obviously tried to come up with something to say.

When nothing came, Blurr's mouth snapped shut and he turned to leave, stiffening slightly when Wheeljack caught his wrist. Wheeljack quickly pulled him down the hall to his lab. The door wasn't even shut when Wheeljack removed his mask, tilted Blurr's head up, and caught the fast 'Bot in a fervent kiss. Blurr's hands were suddenly clutching at Wheeljack's armor but he didn't try to push the Lancia away. He clung to him and Wheeljack could feel the speedster trembling.

"Don't you _ever_ do something like that again!"

Wide, blue optics looked up at him and with what sounded suspiciously like a sob, Blurr wormed his arms around Wheeljack's waist and began to babble out apologies much to fast for Wheeljack to understand. When it appeared that it wasn't going to stop, Wheeljack force Blurr to stop by a kiss, which was followed by another, and then another.

The kisses eventually stopped and Wheeljack just held onto Blurr, fingers stroking the blue helm as his systems purred, his Spark soothed for the first time in what felt like vorns. After a few minutes, Wheeljack leaned back and pressed a kiss to Blurr's helm.

"Do you want to get some energon?"

"…CanIsleep?"

Wheeljack smiled. "Of course you can." He led Blurr off through a door on the side of the lab and set the blue mech down on the berth and curled up beside him when Blurr gave him a pleading look. Blurr fell into recharge quickly and Wheeljack wasn't surprised. It would sometimes happen to a mech who was offline for an extended period of time and Blurr probably didn't have any energy in him as it is.

He didn't know when he fell into recharge himself, but when something disturbed him from it, a quick check to his chrono showed that only two hours had passed since he got up earlier that morning. The source of the disturbance was revealed to be his private comm. and the scientist answered it with a silent, _Wheeljack here._

_This is Prowl. Is Blurr with you?_ It sounded like Prowl would rather not know.

_Yea. What do you need him for?_

_He was suppose to report in for his duty assignment._

Wheeljack winced slightly and his hand stroked Blurr's back as if to sooth himself. _I'll take his assignment. When is it?_

_Wheeljack, that'll mean you're taking triple shifts. Ratchet will—_

_I don't care if Ratch'll weld me to the berth! Blurr's tired and I want him to rest!_

… _Very well. Report to the command center in one hour. Prowl out._

Wheeljack heaved a silent sigh as he let his cheek rest against Blurr's forehead, glad that he was able to take over Blurr's shift. He really didn't mind. He worked in his lab for many hours longer that a triple shift and this wouldn't even affect him. Making a mental note to get himself and Blurr some energon before he started the shift, he set his alarms to go off in forty minutes and fell back into a light recharge.

**oOo**

**Author's Note:** Blurr's been known to worry a lot so I would think he would feel a bit insecure about initiating a relationship with anyone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** The rating of this fic has been upped due to this chapter. I don't want to get into trouble, yo.

**oOo**

It hadn't been very long for things to fall back into a routine, even if it wasn't the usual one. Wheeljack still worked between the medbay, the communication room, and his lab while Blurr was assigned to the communication room for monitor duty until further notice, and visited Wheeljack when he was released from his duty, knowing full well that the inventor would be up no matter how late it was.

There were two mechs who protested against Blurr's assignment. The first and foremost was Blurr himself. He would say that he was the courier for a reason: no other mech could get important things delivered faster than he. He also spoke of how he could easily go on patrol with some of the other mechs. Blurr would provide fire coverage if there was a skirmish and besides Bluestreak, he was probably one of the fastest and most accurate gunners on the Autobot force.

The other mech that protested against Blurr's duty assignment was Prowl. The tactician would talk at lengths that no matter how good Blurr was at monitor duty, his talents should be used else where it was needed, though some of the other 'Bots thought that Prowl just couldn't stand to be in the same area as Blurr and Bluestreak when the two got to talking.

Ratchet ignored Blurr's talking with a practiced air but dragged Prowl into the medbay and locked the two of them inside for a few breems. When Prowl reemerged, the mech looked faintly shaken and didn't question Ratchet's decision on the speedster's duty assignment orders.

Wheeljack was in silent agreement with Blurr and Prowl, but that quickly changed when Sideswipe and Bluestreak practically carried Blurr into the medbay one day while Wheeljack was watching it for Ratchet. The CMO quickly appeared before Wheeljack had a chance to react and quickly motioned for Sideswipe and Bluestreak to leave after they placed Blurr on a berth while he didn't even bother saying anything to Wheeljack. The inventor, not sure of what to do, quickly slid up next to Blurr, taking some comfort when the blue mech leaned against him and laced their fingers together, knowing that Blurr was doing this to reassure both himself and Wheeljack.

Wheeljack couldn't get anything from Ratchet, and afterwards, while Blurr was recharging peacefully in the medbay under watch, he couldn't get information on what happened from the two who brought him in. Even the ever talkative Bluestreak closed his mouth just as it opened and quickly walked off. Wheeljack went back to the medbay and asked Ratchet softly, "Did you forbid them from speaking to me about what happened?"

Ratchet's simple "Yes" put a stop to Wheeljack's question but did nothing for the dark look the inventor shot him.

The Lancia stayed in the medbay for a while, soothed by the steady breathing he heard from Blurr and laced their fingers together as he picked up a datapad filled with his ideas and began to review over them as his gun metal gray fingers gently stroked the white ones of the recharging mech. When Ratchet eventually chased him out of the medbay, Wheeljack simply went back to his lab and transferred the scheme of an electronic pulse disruptor onto a larger screen and made notes on it. After a while Wheeljack concluded that he made enough notes to actually begin building a new one and pulled out enough part to get started.

The project wasn't really far along, just the outer casing built, when he reached for a cube of energon. Part of his mind scolded him, pointing out that while it was about this time of night when he had his energon, it was Blurr who brought it to him and Blurr was in the medbay.

But then why was his mask in one hand while there was a three-quarters filled cube of energon in the other?

Wheeljack looked up and actually jumped in surprise when he saw Blurr standing on the other side of the work table and it was the speedster's quick reflexes that saved the cube of energon though the inventor's mask clattered to the floor and skidded under the work table.

The Lancia pressed a hand against his chassis right above his Spark and stared at Blurr with wide optics. "When did you get here?"

"Aboutabreemago. RatchetreleasedmewhenIcameonlineandtoldmetobecareful. Saidthathedoesn'twanttoseemeforawhile." As if to prove the medic's words, Blurr rubbed at a faint dent in his helm and Wheeljack nodded in understanding. He also knew that Ratchet didn't give Blurr any information of what might be wrong with him so Wheeljack didn't even bother to ask.

Wheeljack took another drink and sat the cube down before going back to work on the project, pulling out wires from organized bins and sat them on the table as he grabbed other components for the device. He didn't take the time to grab his mask and put it back on. Most mechs at this hour were either in recharge or working. Blurr had fallen silent as Wheeljack worked and for a while it felt like how it was before battle, the only difference being that Blurr watched what Wheeljack was doing instead of organizing the wires like he use to.

"Isthereanydangerofitgoingboom?" Blurr asked after a while.

"No danger until I install the energy couplings and convertor," Wheeljack answer, pointing to the components with one hand before grabbing a wire to attach to another part, "And those won't be going in for a while."

"Good."

Wheeljack didn't think to question the response from Blurr and he was greatly surprised when gentle fingers barely touched him, tracing down seams in his armor that were rarely touched. One hand stroked at the edges of his "wings" and Wheeljack couldn't keep in a soft, pleasure filled moan. Internal fans kicked on and Wheeljack leaned heavily onto the work table, barely able to focus on the blue mech that now stood behind him.

"W-what are you d-doing…" The question trailed off as those white fingers found an especially sensitive area just under the edge of his armor on his side.

"Doyouwantmetostop?" Blurr's voice was tinged with worry.

Wheeljack couldn't formulate a response but pressed himself back against Blurr and kissed the mech, giving into the sensations that skittered across his chassis. Blurr quickly led them to the back where the door to Wheeljack's room stood open and he got the inventor to lay down on the berth before following.

There wasn't enough time for Wheeljack to get his bearings back before Blurr's hands moved to his head and began to trace the edges of the vocal indicators that now glow a faint blue. Blurr leaned forward and nuzzled Wheeljack's neck until the other mech lifted his chin, giving the blue 'Bot room to nip at the taut cords and wires there, just adding to the sensations that were swamping Wheeljack's processors.

He wasn't sure how it happened. One moment, those hands were on his helm and the next moment they were delving under the edge of his chassis, exploiting sensitive circuits that made Wheeljack cry out and arch against his partner. It had been such a long time since Wheeljack had a lover and the stress for the past month or so had him tensed to the highest notch. Blurr's action unwound all of the tension surrounding him and when the speedster caught Wheeljack up in a kiss, the Lancia fell over the edge with a cry as an overload coursed through him.

He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but when his optics flickered back online, he saw his mask and unfinished cube of energon on the bedside table before he felt the comforting warmth of Blurr pressed against his front. Looking down, there was only a faint glow from Blurr's optics, showing that he was barely awake.

"Blurr?" Wheeljack questioned softly.

"Youneedtorelaxmore," was the sleepy response he got from the mech before Blurr snuggled closer, a faint smile on his face plates as he drifted off.

Wheeljack didn't want to wake him back up so he settled down for recharge, one hand soothing the edges of Blurr's helm before he finally slipped into sleep.

**oOo**

**AN:** This chapter was a quickie. In more ways than one! XD


	7. Chapter 7

Wheeljack was feeling a bit frustrated. He couldn't remember a time within the past week that he didn't fall into recharge, sated and completely relaxed, with Blurr's helm resting on his chassis. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he couldn't remember Blurr reaching overload. Every time, Wheeljack would offline for a brief while and when his optics came back on, Blurr was already starting to fall into recharge and wouldn't respond to any questions that Wheeljack asked. Blurr would even be gone to his in-ship-duty assigned to him by the time Wheeljack would come fully online the next morning.

He was in the middle of thinking about this when Ratchet caught while on medbay duty. It took too long for Wheeljack to respond and when he came back to the present, Ratchet was tapping a wrench against his armor and giving Wheeljack a look.

"What's wrong with you?" the medic asked, having noticed his friend's lack of response to the things around him. Wheeljack didn't even have a datapad that he wrote out his experiment plans on. Ratchet smirked. "You're acting like you're not getting any," he said, using the human phrase easily.

"Oh, it's not that. I'm getting plenty. Something else."

Wheeljack jerked back as a wrench slammed into the table by his hand, causing a sizable dent in the metal. "How long has this been going on?" he snarled, blue optics whitening to a near blinding intensity. "If that speeding glitch has been disobeying direct orders I'm going to scrap him!"

"Orders? What orders?" Wheeljack felt his faceplates heat up in embarrassment. "Did you forbid Blurr from interfacing?"

Ratchet's optics narrowed. "Since his Spark still fluctuates unexpectedly, yes. Not enough to permanently damage him but it would still hurt him. Strenuous activities such as that or running at excessive speeds that he tends to reach would cause an episode like what happened a week ago. So I told him not to."

"Well, you can stop worrying," Wheeljack grumbled.

"Oh? Do tell."

The inventor gave Ratchet a dirty look before turning away. It didn't sound like Wheeljack said anything, but the mech's vocal indicators flashed a soft blue briefly. When Ratchet continued to stare, Wheeljack gave in, speaking louder.

"He doesn't overload. And it's frustrating that he won't let me touch him! Primus Ratchet! It feels like this relationship is one way when I can't show him how he makes me feel!" Wheeljack's focused on something only he could see and Ratchet could tell that he was smiling under the mask. "He's always there to pull me away from a project and remind me of the things around me when I need it but I can't show him how much it means to me. Words just doesn't express it." The inventor hunched down slightly as some strong, unnamed emotion tugged at his Spark. "I want to at least hold him close and enjoy it but I never have enough energy to do even that."

"Primus save me from lovesick glitches," Ratchet muttered, shaking his head.

Wheeljack ignored the medic after that, staying long enough for his time to be up and then heading to the rec room for his short break before going on duty in the command center. The room was pretty empty save for a few mechs but Wheeljack spotted a familiar, blue form near the back. He grabbed his energon and sat down at the table opposite of Blurr, relaxing slightly when the speedster gave him a smile before continuing to fidget with a half empty cube.

"You doing anything?"

Blurr shook his head. "Notreally. JustreleasedfromthecommandcenterandI'llprobablyworkontargetpractice. I'mstilltryingtoletRatchettoatleastallowmetogoonpatrol." The blue mech's helm hit the table in front of him with a soft thunk. "It'ssoboringandit'sdrivingmenuts!"

Wheeljack chuckled, reaching over and giving the blue helm a gentle stroke, unable to stop the smile forming behind his mask when Blurr's optics shuttered and his systems practically purred. "It shouldn't be much longer. Just think how good that first run would feel."

"Hmm…" Blurr looked back at the inventor just in time to see the mask removed.

Wheeljack took a drink of his energon, one optic ridge raised in question as Blurr continued to stare. "Is there something on my face?" he asked.

"Noquitetheopposite."

Wheeljack nearly inhaled the next drink and he gave Blurr a look that was a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. The speedster just grinned at him before standing up and finishing his cube.

"Catchyoulater!" was all he said before he left the rec room, presumably to go to the target practice he spoke of.

Amused, Wheeljack sat back in his chair and relaxed until it was time for him to go back on duty.

**oOo**

Wheeljack's time in the command center was pretty quiet. Wheeljack answered any calls and updates that patrolling mechs sent in, checked the monitors for any activity, and generally tried to ignore the gossip going on around him. The only thing of interest that happened was that Ratchet sent him a message near the end to come to the medbay. If it was something dire, like needing him to help with any repairs, Ratchet would have contacted him directly and ask.

The inventor was practically halfway to the door when his replacement in the command center came and within minutes he was standing in the medbay, staring anxiously at the medic. Ratchet merely stared back with an optic ridge raised, paused in putting away tools, but he broke out in a grin when it looked like Wheeljack was about to explode.

"I checked Blurr earlier. I still don't want him to do anything to strenuous, but I am going to release him for normal missions." Ratchet set the tool down and leaned forward. Wheeljack leaned back, even though they were no where near touching. "No messing with his Spark for at least another week. Got it?"

Wheeljack nodded. "Got it. Did you tell Blurr?"

"No, I was going to let you do it. Now get out of here before someone comes in and needs repairs."

He didn't need to be told twice. Wheeljack quickly moved down the hall, stopping at his lab first just in case Blurr was there instead of in the speedster's room and was glad that he did. A smile appeared under the mask when the door opened, revealing Blurr asleep at the lab table, his gun set out before him in the middle of repair.

Wheeljack walked up to him and reached forward, fingers tracing down the lines on the pale face. Optics flickered faintly before fully coming online and Blurr smiled up at Wheeljack. Then he shot up in his seat, quickly subspacing the gun and frantically trying to clean up the mess of wires around him while stuttering out apologies, freezing when things clattered to the floor. The taller mech caught Blurr's hands before he could pick the things back up and Blurr's fingers clutched at his convulsively.

"We can pick them up later. C'mon, let's go for a drive."

"ButRatchetsaid—"

"Do you always obey what Ratchet says?"

The answer was said in a small voice. "No…"

"Then let's go."

Blurr followed obediently, trailing after Wheeljack as they left the Ark and got out on the road. There was only a moment of hesitation before Blurr converted to his alt mode and started down the road, eventually becoming the leader of the duo and choosing less traveled roads, keeping his speed down for both Wheeljack and the thought of Ratchet's orders.

A side road caught Wheeljack's attention and he called to Blurr, asking if they could go that way and Blurr responded by turning back around and following the Lancia. The path was almost impassable from the dense trees and underbrush, but it soon gave way to a large lake, sunlight peeking through the leaves and dappling the ground.

The both of them converted back, standing and looking around. Blurr seemed interested in the plant and animal life in the area, looking at them with a fascination but not moving around. Wheeljack couldn't stand it anymore. With practiced movement, he removed the mask and slipped it into subspace as he moved up behind Blurr, placing his hands on the blue armor. Blurr had jumped at the first touch, obviously not expecting it, but leaned into the touch comfortably.

"Itwasn'tmynormalspeedbutthatfeltslaggingood," Blurr said. His next words didn't have a chance to leave his vocals as fingers trailed down the seams of his armor, small arcs of electricity following the wake of the inventor's hands and bringing pleasure to the wires beneath the metal.

"J-J-Jackie?"

"Hmm?" Wheeljack leaned forward more, catching Blurr in a kiss and silencing any other words. The smaller mech sagged against Wheeljack, pleasure making him weak and urging him to cling to the other warrior. Wheeljack eventually pulled away from the kiss, but not away from Blurr. "You must be tense," he said as nipped at the sensitive cords of Blurr's neck. "Do you know how much I wanted to touch you? But you were always too quick for me."

Blurr's mouth fell open in a breathless gasp as Wheeljack found a particularly sensitive bundle of wires at his hip and feeling pleasure race up to his Spark before continuing to the rest of him. "R-Ratchetsaidnottoletanythingmesswithmyenergyfields." He turned enough to give Wheeljack a look full of desire. "ButIwantedtotouchyousobadandyouweresostressed."

"Now's the time to reward you then," Wheeljack answered.

No other words were spoken between them as Wheeljack continued his attention on the speedster in his arms, the soft little whimpers and moans that Blurr produced telling him which wires gave him the most pleasure before Wheeljack silenced those too, stealing another kiss and deepening it almost immediately.

Blurr arched against him, the kiss swallowing his cry as electricity raced down all of his wires and circuits, the overload cascading through his systems and sending him offline.

Wheeljack held Blurr easily, proud of himself for getting such a strong reaction from the blue mech as he moved them so that he could sit down and lean against a strong tree and hold Blurr close to him while waiting for the speedster to online again.

The first indication that Blurr was regaining consciousness was the slight rev in his engine and Wheeljack just pressed his bare cheek to the blue helm, watching the sunlight reflect off of the water.

"Ratchet told me that you went in for a check up earlier," Wheeljack murmured. He tightened his hold on Blurr as the mech tensed unexpectedly. "I'm to tell you that he's releasing you back to normal duty, but still doesn't want you to go at excessive speeds."

Blurr stilled and he turned, looking at Wheeljack with wide optics. "Really?"

"Really."

Wheeljack figured that he didn't need to hold Blurr still anymore. Especially since the smaller 'Bot was pressing him back against the tree, doing his best to convey his happiness in the kiss he had engaged Wheeljack in.


	8. Chapter 8

Blurr knew that he screwed up this time. What was even worse was that it was his first normal mission after being stuck on the light duty list for so long.

At least the Decepticons caught him after he delivered the package to the outpost halfway across the country from base.

Well, he was sure it was the Decepticons. It was the only reason to explain why an electronic pulse had knocked him out and he was waking up in a cell. With his Spark pulsing erratically.

Blurr pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned heavily against the closest wall. His access to subspace was sealed off so no use on trying to get his gun. Communications have also been blocked. The only thing Blurr could do was access any internal diagnostics and the time. Comparing the mission schedule to his internal clock, he should have reached the Ark yesterday. Meaning he was about three days behind with no contact to ally forces.

"I see that you're awake," a voice said.

Blue optics flickered and Blurr looked up at the owner of the voice, refusing to wince as a faint pain raced through his chassis. A sneering face greeted his sight and Blurr's shoulders slumped faintly.

"WhattheslagdoyouwantScreamer?"

Starscream's optics narrowed and Blurr grinned as it took the seeker a long pause to process the fast words. "Don't call me that!" There was another pause as Starscream visibly collected himself. "We're just going to do the usual routine. Interrogation, torture, maybe offlining you permanently."

Blurr snorted. "Youhaveyettoofflineanyone. Howareyougoingtotorturemeanyway? Talkatme? Orwouldthatbescreechatme? Whatexactlydoyoudo? Megatroncan'tkeepyouaroundforbeinguseful. Primusknowsthatyou'renotanygoodatanything."

"Will you just shut up?"

"Butisn'tinterrogationallaboutmetalking? ItwouldbeagainstthepointifIweretostoptalking." Blurr slumped over against another wall so that he was supported on both sides. "IshouldhaveJackiemakemesomeaudioblockers. Oratleastsomethingthatcouldblockoutyourhorribleaudiowavelengths."

"Wait a minute… Who's 'Jackie?' A new human ally of yours?"

Blue optics flickered in surprise. "Jackie. Wheeljack. Autobotinventorthatspecializesinmakingthingsgoboom! Maybehe'llcometogetme. BeinggonefromtheArkforsolongmightbeworryinghim." The last part was said mostly to himself but he didn't believe the words. He wasn't important enough for the Autobots to send out search parties for him.

Starscream frowned. "Why would he come for you? It's not like you're important."

The blue mech winced when Starscream echoed his thoughts, but he looked up at the seeker defiantly. "Youhaven'tspiedonusinornsthen. Jackiewouldn'tjustleavehisbondmatetothehandsofthenemies!"

Never mind that the two of them weren't bonded. But the Decepticons didn't know that.

Blurr stared at Starscream in curiosity as the seeker started to mutter frantically to himself before leaving him alone in the cell. Blurr sighed softly and offline his optics, trying to get comfortable in the cold area. Maybe a bit of recharge will settle his Spark better.

**oOo**

"I'm sorry, Wheeljack, but we don't have the resources to create a search that big."

Wheeljack shuttered his optics at Prowl's words and he did his best to remain calm. The tactician was thinking of what was important to entire crew, not just one 'Bot. "Blurr wouldn't remain out of contact this long. When have you known him to be late? He's always a day or two ahead of the time you give him for missions! At least let me search for him."

Prowl opened his mouth to reply but Jazz beat him to it.

"Looks like ya don't hav'ta." The saboteur tapped the screen in front of him. "Two Decepticon signals and one Autobot in our territory and the 'Cons are headin' out."

Wheeljack didn't wait for the confirmation on whose signal it was. He took off down towards the exit of the ship, converting to his alt mode at a run and tearing down the highway. After leaving the highway onto a large expanse of desert, Wheeljack let nothing hold him back and raced to the origin of the signal.

Both relief and worry filled him at the sight of the familiar blues and Wheeljack skid to a halt before he ran past the still form of Blurr, dust and sand drifting into the air. Carefully, the inventor kneeled down beside Blurr and began to check the speedster over for injuries or anything that need repairs.

Halfway through the inspection, he felt a tap on his arm and looked up. He expected to see one of the other Autobots that might have followed him out of the Ark, but Blurr's optics met his gaze head on. Wheeljack didn't even have the time to brace himself as Blurr practically launched himself at the inventor, tackling him to the ground in a forceful hug.

Wheeljack's engine revved higher at the familiar warmth Blurr's chassis gave off but after a minute of silence, he pushed Blurr up slightly. "You're awfully quiet."

Blue optics flickered in surprise and Blurr tapped his neck lightly. He then sat absolutely still as Wheeljack reached up, a tiny tool in his hand, delving between the sensitive cords of the speedster's neck. Wheeljack spared a thought to how odd it must look for him to be working on Blurr while he was laying on the ground under the 'Bot, but something in Blurr's neck clicked into place. He barely had time to withdraw the tool before Blurr hugged him again.

"I'msorryIgotcaughtIpromiseIwon'tletithappenagain!"

"How long did they have you?"

"Aboutthreedays. I'veonlybeenawakeforone."

"What happened?"

"Iwokeup. Screamersaidsomethingaboutinterrogation. Isaidsomethingaboutyou. Theydeactivatedmyvocalizer. Theybroughtmehere." Blurr shrugged.

"… You said something about me."

Blurr looked sheepish, speaking so rapidly that even Wheeljack had trouble understanding. "Ikindatoldthemyouweremybondmateandwoulddoanythingtogetmeback."

Wheeljack laughed, startling Blurr, and he took off the gray mask before leaning up to kiss the blue mech, the laughter quickly trailing off. He could feel Blurr relaxing against him and he appeared a bit dazed when the inventor pulled back.

"If mentioning my name brings you back safely, then I don't mind!" Wheeljack said, pressing his helm against Blurr's and looked him in the optics, getting a smile in return.

**oOo**

**Author's Note:** This chapter was mostly unplanned save for the basic thought of "Mention Jackie and scare the 'Cons." I'm not good at writing 'Cons… Hope you enjoyed this mostly short chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

Wheeljack sat in the medbay, alone, reading one of his datapads, knowing that very little was going to happen that day. There were no battles, no skirmishes, the twins were both on patrol, Ratchet was resting, and the Ark was quiet

That's why he was a bit surprised when the door to the medbay slid open to reveal Blurr, the blue mech looking at Wheeljack uncertainly. Blurr's mouth worked for a few moments before he quickly stuttered out, "I'llwaitforRatchet," and left.

"Woah Blurr! Get back here!" Wheeljack rushed out of the room and grabbed the hand of the retreating mech. He looked Blurr over and didn't notice anything out of place with him, except for the slight twitching of his fingers that tended to appear when he became nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Nothingswrong! Whywouldsomethingbewrong? There'sabolutelynothingwrong!"

Wheeljack gave him a pointed look and Blurr wilted slightly but he didn't look away. That alone showed Wheeljack how much Blurr's confidence with him grew since his confession in the middle of battle.

"RatchetchecksmySparkafterlongmissions," he answered. "Makingsureitstayssteady."

"It's a simple diagnostics test right? I can do that no problem." His vocal indicators flashed cheerfully at his words and he pulled a faintly protesting Blurr back into the medbay. After getting him up onto a table, Wheeljack began to ready various cords and the machine it was attached to, making sure everything was in working order. He turned back to Blurr, he motioned to the blue armor. "Open up."

This time blue optics looked away and Wheeljack saw the speedster's hands clenching on the edge of the table before his attention was diverted by the sound of Blurr's chest armor shifting, seals releasing to reveal a bright Spark, taking on a blue tinge from the armor covering it. To the normal optics, it appeared to be fine, but Wheeljack knew problems could easily hide.

Wheeljack gently connected the various cords to ports surrounding the Spark chamber, noticing when Blurr shuddered slightly. "I'm just as qualified as Ratchet to be doing this," he said, trying to soothe any worries Blurr might have.

Blurr nodded and looked over to something by one of the berths as Wheeljack checked the readouts from the machine. It read normal, no odd fluctuations or pulses or energy outputs that would speak of problems. Nodding to himself and marking down the results onto a datapad for Ratchet to look over later, Wheeljack turned back to Blurr and began to disconnect the cords.

"Don't you trust in me?" he asked as Blurr shuddered again. Wheeljack looked up into the speedster's oddly dimmed optics, not paying close attention to when his hand barely brushed against the sensitive wires around the chamber.

The blue 'Bot let out a needy whimper and he grab Wheeljack by the vocal indicators, pulling the inventor up and pressing a kiss to the mask that covered his face. Wheeljack started in surprise and was suddenly released when Blurr keened as an overload hit his systems, the stimuli around his Spark setting off the cascade of pleasure.

Wheeljack didn't know what to think as Blurr slumped against him, internal cooling fans whirling to life in the otherwise quiet air of the medbay, but his vocalizer went ahead and worked without him anyway.

"I hope that doesn't happen when you're tested by Ratchet."

"Hmm…" Blurr shifted, apparently too relaxed to move otherwise. "IaskedforRatchetbecauseitwouldn'thavehappened."

The inventor chuckled and moved Blurr so that the mech was sitting back up and the armor shifted until the Spark was once again hidden. Blue optics slowly brightened back up to the normal color and Blurr straightened on his own, a soft sigh leaving his intakes.

"AmIreleased?"

Wheeljack nodded and Blurr got off the table, only slightly wobbly from the overload. He leaned forward and gave Wheeljack's mask another kiss before slowly walking out of the room. The white mech watched him leave before turning back to the equipment he used to put it away, jumping as he caught sight of Ratchet standing in the doorway of the office that connected the medic's room to the medbay.

"Ratchet!"

"Am I to assume that those are Blurr's results?"

He nodded frantically and continued to put away the equipment as Ratchet came forward and picked up the datapad. Wheeljack froze as Ratchet stopped before he head back to the office and said, "Don't make that a regular occurrence."

"Yes sir!" he squeaked out, his vocal indicators flashing a slight pink in mortification. Ratchet nodded, disappearing back into his room, and Wheeljack resisted the urge to find some place to hide.

**oOo**

He should have seen it coming. He really should have. After all, Blurr wasn't the type to just forget something potentially embarrassing without having some sort of payback planned. But since nothing was done when Wheeljack got back to the lab and nothing was out of place, he just shrugged it off.

The inventor was abruptly reminded of the incident he caused as he was practically tackled while on his way to monitor duty and dragged off into a room a small bit away, the door sliding shut and cutting off all light from the hall. It took Wheeljack a moment to realize that he was in Blurr's room even though the blue mech's stuff had slowly began to trickle into his room.

Quick, sure hands felt down the edges of Wheeljack's armor and the inventor groaned as Blurr nipped at the cords of his neck. Fingers worked their way under the white chassis and Wheeljack arched against his lover at the faintest touches to the wiring surrounding his Spark chamber, so worked up and on the edge that he couldn't stop the overload from coming if he tried with every ounce of will in him.

Movement stopped after that and when his optics finally decided to come back online, he saw Blurr smiling down. "ThatwasforwhathappenedinthemedbayandIneedtogo."

He would have walked out of there with the thought that his mask had never been removed except for the pleasant, almost bruised feeling left on his lips and the nearly unnoticed sensation of air briefly touching his face plates.

Wheeljack left the room in a daze and was halfway to his destination when he realized that he still had to report for duty and ran the rest of the way to the command center. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to find that he was right on time despite the distraction he got, but he was thankful for that distraction because it kept his thoughts occupied during his duty.

Once again, he was glad that he wore a mask habitually.

**oOo**

**Author's Note:** Again, short, sorry. I only have one, maybe two chapters planned before this ends, and then maybe oneshots afterwards. I dunno. Thank you all for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Blurr mewled softly, his optics flashing near white before dimming dark, his hands clutching his lover's hips as dark hands traced down his armor seams. "J-j-jackie…" he stuttered, his voice laced with static.

Wheeljack couldn't keep the satisfied smile down if he wanted to. The sound of Blurr's voice at the height of pleasure was one addiction that he never wanted to get tired of. Leaning up, he caught Blurr's lips in an intense kiss as the speedster stiffened. A moment later overload raced through his circuits and he barely noticed when Blurr caught him, hands carefully lowering him down to rest on the blue chassis, the purr of internal fans gently bringing him down from the high.

"Imissedyou," Blurr murmured, nuzzling the side of Wheeljack's helm.

"The past month was unusually long," the scientist replied. "I didn't even get a chance to sa… to see you off."

Blurr knew what he was about to say and just held him closer in understanding. By unspoken accord neither one of them said "goodbye" when one left. With the war going on and random battles popping up, one goodbye could possibly be the last. It might be false comfort, but it was one they were willing to accept.

"Iwishtherewasawaytokeepyoufromworrying," Blurr said in the quiet that fell around them, nearly soothing Wheeljack into recharge with soft strokes to his stubby wings.

Blurr's words brought him out of it, though. Wheeljack worried his bottom lip for a moment before saying, "We could bond."

Complete silence came as Blurr's internal fans stopped, despite the heat that still lingered in his frame. Wheeljack thought the he might have pushed too far, suggestion something like that. "Officially" they've only been together for six months, but they've known each other for much longer than that. Wheeljack's worry lessened when Blurr began to stutter.

"B-b-butabondisapermanentthing! I'mfasttalkingannoyingdon'tknowwhentostoppushing. Whydoyouwanttobewithaglitchedmechlikethat?"

"The same reason why you want to be with a mech so much older than you." Wheeljack pushed himself up so that he could look down at Blurr and smiled when the speedster pressed his cheek against Wheeljack's hand. "But I won't force you into this."

Blue optics focused on Wheeljack, Blurr's expression solemn and serious, and after a moment he nodded.

Wheeljack's smile softened and he pressed a kiss to the area of light blue on the front of Blurr's helm. The inventor sat up so that his weight was on his legs and his hands began to wander over the blue armor, going from Blurr's neck to his shoulders and down his arms, his touch soothing and gently bringing the arousal back up through the speedster's circuits. The white mech was slightly surprised that it only took a few touches before the blue armor before him split apart, brightening the dark room with the blue-white glow of Blurr's spark.

Wheeljack move his hands to the sides, deviling into the transformation seams and Blurr arched into his hands as sensitive wires were stroked. The speedster whimpered as he reached up to clasp Wheeljack's hand, fingers twined with his and Wheeljack removed his hand as his own chest armor split open, bathing Blurr's face with brilliant light. Wheeljack slowly lowered himself, the edges of their Spark brushing against each other and the inventor froze when Blurr cried out sharply.

He almost pulled back, ready to say that they weren't ready but Blurr's feelings flitted across the tentative connection, feelings of need and worry and love but it was the feeling of "Don't leave…" that convinced Wheeljack to continue. Slowly, their Sparks merged and electricity arced over them, making sensors tingle and pushing them closer to overload. Wheeljack leaned forward, kissing Blurr and almost cried out from the amount of unbridled love that flowed across the connection.

Everything about the blue mech flooded his processors, his reasons as to why he joined the Autobots, why he came to Earth, why he worried so much, why he had so many insecurities, why he had so few friends, why he was so fast… But one thing Wheeljack didn't see was why Blurr loved him.

The inventor whimpered as agile fingers stroked his wings and through the connection, he heard Blurr whisper, _I don't need a reason to love you. I just do._

Warmth flooded Wheeljack at those words and below him Blurr stiffened again, his voice leaving him in a sobbing moan as he fell over the edge into overload and Wheeljack was quick to follow his lover, both of them falling offline and oblivious as their Sparks separated on their own and was hidden away by armor once again.

**oOo**

Wheeljack was pulled from a deep, peaceful recharge by an insistent beeping and it took a few moments before his processors recognized it as the comm. unit. With many years of practice, Wheeljack picked up his mask from the side of the berth, latched it back on, sat up, and turned on the room's comm. in one fluid motion.

"Wheeljack here," he answered, suppressing a yawn but rubbed his optics sleepily.

_"This is Prowl. I need all off duty Autobots at the front entrance to join in a battle about seventy-two miles south of here."_

"We'll be out in a moment." Shutting off the comm. unit, Wheeljack turned and gently shook Blurr's shoulder. He was having a hard time believing that they actually bonded. He didn't regret it, oh no. It just didn't feel any different than the day before. He was contemplating this as he leaned over and said, "We need to leave. There's a battle going on."

And suddenly a cold fear filled him as blue optics flickered on and focused on him. After a moment that fear left and Blurr nodded, sitting up and rubbing his helm slightly. He gave Wheeljack a questioning look as the inventor looked at him with a slightly worried expression.

"C'monJackieweneedtogetgoingiftheyneedus."

Wheeljack nodded. "Yea. Let's get going."

**oOo**

Prowl watched in slight amazement as Wheeljack ordered their fighters around, pointing them to areas where the Decepticons were about to break through or where the Decepticons themselves were the weakest. He didn't find anything wrong with this. Wheeljack, while spending most of his time working in his lab or the medbay, _is_ an officer and had the rank to command most of the fighters. But Wheeljack rarely, if ever, used his rank and while it confused some of the mechs, they obeyed without question.

It was almost amusing to hear him talk though. The comm. link between him and the others was on the Autobot frequency, but Wheeljack was apparently getting his information by a different mean.

"Hound and Mirage you need to go twenty meters east Bumblebee watch you left side Sunstreaker the cassettes are about to never mind just watch the area they were in a moment ago there's a large unprotected area to Soundwave's right Seekers are coming up from the south fragging glitch Blurr do _not_—"

Wheeljack was cut off when a rather loud explosion echoed across the battle field and the inventor rubbed his helm in exasperation. Even though Prowl heard nothing over the comm. channel, he had a feeling that Wheeljack was talking directly with the blue mech.

"I don't care if it worked it came from my lab and I had yet to test it! It could have… You're leaking energon. Don't you dare deny it I felt that blast that caught you on your left side slaggit!"

Prowl was jerked down by the arm as Wheeljack pulled him and just in time. One of the seekers flew over them and let loose a barrage of missiles and laser fire. Most of the rocks protected them but Prowl felt Wheeljack jerk to the side slightly and he looked over at him, searching for injuries. From the way he moved, there was damage done to his left arm, the appendage not responding properly and sparking as Wheeljack tried to move, but that didn't stop him to continue giving orders.

The tactician could feel his processors beginning to freeze when he tried to figure out how exactly Wheeljack knew where to send the mechs without looking so he decided to stop and focus on the battle.

Besides, Prowl was pretty sure that the thought of Wheeljack and Blurr being bonded would make him freeze since it did so once before.

**oOo**

It was sweet, really.

There wasn't many things that would make Ratchet think that, but this had to be one of them.

He had stayed behind from the battle in order to prepare the medbay and his usual, famous temper was in full high as the mechs filtered in, a few of them sporting scratches and gouges in armor while other were leaking energon and other vital fluids. Ratchet had First Aid line them up by order of injury severity and sat them down on the nearest available spot before he got started.

There were only four other mechs left by the time he reached them and he just didn't have the Spark to pull them apart.

Wheeljack and Blurr sat together on a berth, slumped against the wall behind them, the smaller, blue mech curled up against the inventor and both of them in a deep recharge, holding hands between them, white and dark gray fingers laced together.

A quick scan told Ratchet that while their injuries need to be fixed, Blurr's leaking energon line had been clamped off and Wheeljack was no longer sparking, all energy to the injured arm cut off.

Shaking his head slightly, Ratchet moved on to Sideswipe to began the repairs on the Lambo. After all, he wanted to get a picture of the two of them recharging like that so he could tease Wheeljack later and that would have to wait until the others were fixed.

**oOo**

**Author's Note:** And that's the end of Crossed Wires. I do plan on having a one shot series of this pairing, working with what my mind pulls out or what people might request, so if I've addicted you to this pairing, you can have that to look forward to. If there's something you want to see, suggest it! Thank you for sticking with me through this!


End file.
